Career: Played 34 games over four seasons with the Cardinal, missing the majority of his sophomore campaign after suffering a season-ending injury in season opener against Northwestern; totaled 159 tackles (61 solo), 17 sacks, 29.5 tackles for loss, two passes broken up and three forced fumbles

Summary: Phillips was a three-year letter winner at Millard West (Nebraska) under Head Coach Kirk Peterson. As a true freshman at Stanford in 2014, the defensive tackle played six games and totaled nine tackles and a pair of sacks. Williams helped anchor Stanford’s front throughout four seasons and received numerous awards and honors for his performance.

The former wrestler is described in his NFL.com draft profile as having a “thick-boned, burly frame” who nabs more tackles than the typical interior lineman. According to NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein, Phillips physical appearance matches that of a guard than a nose tackle, but he “definitely has the leverage and power to play to anchor and muddy the run game waters.” Zierlein said that Phillips has a “feel for blocking schemes,” can handle being double teamed and has “early starter potential.”

Off the field, Phillips received Pac-12 All-Academic First-Team honors as a junior and senior; he graduated in December of 2017 with a double major in science of technology and sociology and a minor in education. Phillips has expressed a desire to bring “intellectual brutality” to the NFL.

Stacking up: Phillips was ranked by NFL Media analyst Mike Mayock as the fifth-best interior defensive lineman in this year’s draft class, and Bucky Brooks placed him “on the bubble” outside the top five, along with USC’s Rasheem Green.

On the mats: Phillips didn’t excel only on the football field. He was a three-time high school state wrestling champ and developed a strong core that translated well to the gridiron. Zierlein said his former experience on the mats has made Phillips a “natural scrambler with non-traditional ways of finding the football and the quarterback.”

“[There are] physical parallels – the hips, hands, fluidity, balance, things like that – that help. But there's also the mentality part,” Phillips said during his combine podium session. “In wrestling, it's you and another person. You can't blame your shoes for slipping. You can't blame your coaches for the plan call. You can't have any excuses. It's you let another man beat you.

“In the same way, that kind of is the trenches. And sometimes, the offensive line needs two people to try and do that where it's a 2-on-1, but that's fine, the more the merrier,” Phillips continued. “I would just say it prepared me in the mindset and physically. If my kids want to be football players, I want them to wrestle.”